Brenda Romero

Design Director / Romero Games

Brenda Romero is a BAFTA award-winning game designer, artist and Fulbright scholar who entered the video game industry in 1981. As a designer, she has worked on 47 games and contributed to many seminal titles, including the Wizardry and Jagged Alliance series and titles in the Ghost Recon, Dungeons & Dragons and Def Jam franchises.

Away from the machine, her analog series of six games, The Mechanic is the Message, has drawn national and international acclaim, particularly Train and Siochán Leat (often called “The Irish Game”) which is presently housed in the National Museum of Play. Most recently, she received the 2017 Development Legend award at the Develop: Brighton. In 2015, she won the coveted Ambassador’s Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards. In 2014, she received a Fulbright award to study Ireland’s game industry, academic and government policies.

In 2013, she was named one of the top 10 game developers by Gamasutra.com and Develop magazine listed her among the 25 people who changed games in 2013. Romero co-owns Romero Games based in Galway and is Program Director at the University of Limerick MSc in Game Design & Development.

Keynote Speaker

November 18, 2017 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Keynote “Women in Games” – Brenda Romero

10:00 AM: Keynote “Women and Games” – Brenda Romero Brenda Romero’s half stand-up comedy talk will explore the history and role of women in games, as well as the present situation and future. After her talk, there will be a Q&A with Brenda and the audience.

Fireside chat with Rhianna Pratchett and Brenda Romero

A laid back conversation between two amazing people. Brenda Romero will have a fireside chat with Rhianna Pratchett, in which they will discuss diverse topics. The audience might be able to chip in, time-allowing.